The Rose Theatre roles out the red carpet as ‘James Bond’ star Dame Judi Dench takes the stage in Shakespearian play ‘ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ The 007 actress stars as Titania as she had previously in the 1960’s for Peter Hall. However rather than appearing in her birthday suit as she had in the 1960’s film version Dench appears on stage as Elizabeth I in costume with a regal gown and neck ruff. Elizabeth I is also a role that Judi Dench is familiar with as her appearance in ‘Shakespeare In Love.’ So the audience is bound to be static with excitement as she walks onto the stage.

So far tickets have sold out in masses as reviews from local papers have described her performance to sustain a five star rating whereas other reviews believe that “The comic elements are by far its strongest aspect, and the attempts to create subtle shifts in the portrayal of key characters paradoxically lead to the production feeling rather more conservative than its interesting premise suggests.” The excitement of a Hollywood star dismisses the negative factors as even still ticket sales are increasing at the chance for fans to see an admired actress live.

But does this mean that the public are only interested in meeting , greeting and seeing Hollywood stars on stage than going to see the Shakespeare production itself and absorbing the cultural arts of the theatre? Or could this lead the public to enjoy a Shakespearian play and feel encouraged to visit the theatre more often regardless of the actors? The appearance of media manipulator money maker Katie Price at her book signing at the Bentall Center suggests that Kingston’s public are more interested in fame than culture. But hey, as long as the Rose Theatre are making money from the Shakespearian play does it really matter?

Some would argue that this historical piece of literature is being trashed with the use of major actors to generate attention for the theatre, than to encourage audiences to enjoy the performance and story of ‘ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’